Promises
by wolfteam000
Summary: She struggled against his grip, howling in despair. "Jellal!" The black box fell onto the ground with a small thump, the diamond ring within it sparkling under the bright lights as it lay forgotten.


**Promises**

He saw her push open the door to the shop and a waiter immediately guided her to her usual table by the window. The staff in the shop had grown accustomed to her presence. She was here every day, arriving at exactly 3:30 pm, not a minute earlier, not a minute later.

His eyes followed her as she sat down gracefully and ordered her usual without sparing the menu a glance. He knew what to prepare, after all, she ordered the same thing every day.

He turned around, snagging a cup from the cupboard and placing it under the coffee machine. His fingers danced across the numerous buttons as he grabbed a plate and teaspoon with his other free hand. The noisy whirr of the machinery hummed in the background and as the foam settled in the cup, he whisked it onto the plate, a piece of biscotti nestled on the side. With a flick of his wrist, he sprinkled a thin layer of coffee powder onto the snow white foam with practised ease before sending the cappuccino on its way to her table.

* * *

"_Hey baby," his voice crackled over the phone's speaker and she frowned. The connection was quite bad and the irritating buzz was hurting her ear._

"_Hey Jellal," she replied, noting the tinge of excitement in his voice, "Is everything ok?"_

_He laughed and a warm feeling started in the depths of her stomach. It was possibly the most beautiful thing she had ever heard. "Everything's going great. Think you can meet me at my coffee shop at 3:30?"_

"_Sure," Erza said with a smile._

_Just as she was about to hang up, she heard his voice through the phone once more. "Hey Erza."_

"_Hmm?"_

_He paused before continuing. "Love you."_

_For some reason, tears welled up in her eyes. "Love you too."_

* * *

He reached for the strawberry cream cake inside the fridge. Cappuccino and strawberry cake were her favourite and he made sure to make the strawberry cake with extra care every day. The knife in his hand cut through the cake easily and a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He also always made sure to cut her slice of cake slightly larger than the normal portion.

A waiter came over as he placed the slice on a plate but he held up his hand. "I'll do it."

His eyes glanced over at her. She was beautiful, with her scarlet hair and brown eyes. Kind eyes, he noted, but sad. The flicker of pain and sorrow in them were unmistakable and a pang of hurt tugged at his heart. What could possibly hurt such a gentle creature so badly?

* * *

_The man bumped into her, nearly knocking her over._

"_Shit, I'm sorry," he grabbed her arm just in time and pulled her upright. "Erza?"_

"_Simon!" _

_He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, visibly distressed. "I've only just heard, I'm sorry." Simon flagged down a passing cab. "Are you coming?"_

"_Coming where?" Panic started to well up in her chest. "What's going on Simon?"_

_The fear in his eyes were palpable and he struggled to find the words for the briefest of moments. "Erza, Jellal was just hit by a bus outside his coffee shop."_

_At that moment, the sinking feeling hit her and she blanched._

_No…_

* * *

"Here's your strawberry cake, Miss." He placed the piece in front of her.

She murmured a soft thank you in reply. He stood there, unwilling to leave. Half turning, half unmoving, he faltered before turning back towards her. "Sorry, I'm Jellal." He stuck out a hand. "I'm the pâtissier and the owner of this coffee shop. I just thought I'd introduce myself since you're a regular here."

She looked up and he nearly flinched at the raw pain in her eyes. He wasn't sure why she was so sad and a sudden anger coursed through him at the thought that someone would hurt her willingly.

"Nice to meet you Jellal, I'm Erza." She gestured at him to sit down and he drew up the chair opposite to her. "I've been coming here for quite some time. This used to be me and my boyfriend's favourite coffee shop."

Jellal swallowed. He didn't dare ask. This _used _to be her and her boyfriend's favourite coffee shop? Did they break up? Did he die? Was she single now?

* * *

_Erza burst through the hospital doors with Simon close behind her. She skidded to a stop at the nurse's station._

"_Please, I'm looking for Jellal Fernandes," she choked out breathlessly. _

"_Erza?"_

_She whipped around. "Gray!"_

_He approached her. "You're here to see Jellal?"_

_She nodded, unable to speak as the tears threatened to fall from her eyes. _

_Gray took her by the arm and led her over to a line of chairs. "Sit down," he said gently. "I'm Jellal's doctor so I'll update you on his condition now."_

"_Is he alive? Is he alright?" _

_The raven nodded, his hands gripping her shoulder tightly. "Calm down Erza," he stared into her eyes. "Breathe. He's alive but..."_

_Hot tears streaked down her cheeks. "What? But what? Gray!"_

_Gray took her hand in his lightly. "Erza," he started slowly, "Jellal hit his head on the concrete when he was hit by the bus. There was intracranial hemorrhaging but we managed to fix it. He's resting now."_

_She faintly registered Simon placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, promising that it was all going to be alright. She looked down at her hands. They were numb. She stood up on shaky legs, the blood pounding in her ears. She could hear her laboured breathing but nothing else._

"_I need to see him," she murmured distractedly, brushing past the two men._

_A hand shot out and grasped her firmly by the hand, pulling her back. "Wait Erza."_

_She turned back, her entire frame shaking. She was trying. She was trying so hard not to fall to pieces. Gray took her hand gently and placed a velvet black box in her hands. He closed her fingers around the box. "They found this in his hand."_

_Erza looked up with wide eyes. Slowly, she fumbled with the box and opened it._

_Inside was a…_

_Her head snapped up as Gray's pager went off. His eyebrows were furrowed as he muttered to himself. "Fuck…911. Damn it Jellal, don't die on me." He sprinted for the doors. "Stay here Erza," he shouted, not sparing her a glance. "Stay here!"_

_She ran after him._

_No… Jellal…_

_Simon lunged at her, engulfing her in his embrace. "No," he whispered between gasps of breath. "You have to trust the doctors. You have to trust them." _

_She struggled against his grip, howling in despair. "Jellal!" _

"_You have to trust Jellal!" Simon screamed, voice hoarse as he wrestled to stop Erza from rushing after Gray._

_The black box fell onto the ground with a small thump, the diamond ring within it sparkling under the bright lights as it lay forgotten._

* * *

Jellal stared at her in shock. "Did your boyfriend survive?" he whispered.

Erza nodded. "Yes, but he had amnesia. The doctors say that there is a chance that he'll regain his memories but that I can't tell him yet because it might be too early to trigger his memories since his brain is still recovering."

Jellal's hands clenched into fists. "It'll be alright, he'll come back to you one day," he said with a small smile. "No one could possibly forget you."

A shout from the direction of the kitchen stole his attention momentarily. Waving dismissively, Jellal stood up. "Sorry, I have to deal with something back there."

Erza nodded in understanding.

"Erza," Jellal said, turning back towards her. "I'm asking, since you said you always came here with your boyfriend. What was his name again? I can't seem to remember ever seeing you two."

She gaped at him for a second and he could have sworn that utter agony flashed in her eyes before they became unreadable, her chocolate brown eyes melting into a dark brown. "Siegrain." She whispered, her eyes hidden by her scarlet locks. "His name was Siegrain."

Jellal nodded. "He'll be back, don't worry."

She gave a half-hearted smile. "I hope so."

* * *

**Author's note:**

**I'm just a baby author trying to make my way in the Jerza fandom hurrhurr.**


End file.
